‘Turbo,’ movie review

Turbo (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) has what seems an impossible dream: winning the Indy 500.

Joe Neumaier

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Wednesday, July 17, 2013, 2:00 AM

Title'Turbo'Film Info:PG. Area theaters. In 3-D where available.

Families who have already raced to “Monsters University” and “Despicable Me 2” will find “Turbo” an acceptable third-place finisher. A sort-of escargot-meets-“Cars” adventure, it has some sharp vocal turns and remains fun even when its inventiveness runs out of gas.

Theo (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) is a garden snail whose dull life in a suburban Los Angeles flower bed isn’t what he wants. The bug, who calls himself “Turbo,” idolizes a French racecar driver named Guy Gagne (Bill Hader, with an over-the-top accent ) and dreams of going fast.

But Turbo’s big brother Chet (Paul Giamatti) leads the tsk-tsk ing about his big hopes — that is, until an accidental infusion of nitrous oxide from a roadster enters Turbo’s system. Then he becomes a tiny speedster, and with the help of a taco stand worker named Tito (Michael Pena), he enters the Indy 500 on his way to glory.

Convoluted as its plot sounds, the script for “Turbo” — co-written by veterans of “Shrek Forever After,” “Shark Tale” and the satirical newspaper the Onion — is amazingly agile. Even the movie’s target audience of boys aged 7-10 may appreciate how easily Turbo travels from a tomato-filled garden to an L.A. freeway to Indianapolis.

The filmmakers also learned well the lessons of the “Toy Story” trilogy. When Turbo meets Tito’s other racing snails — including the take-charge leader Whiplash (a bombastic Samuel L. Jackson) — they don’t talk with humans. Yet the melding of their world with Tito’s community at a Van Nuys strip mall is fairly seamless.

The voice work here keeps pace. Reynolds, who can’t catch a break when it comes to live-action flicks, has a light, eager tone. Giamatti is droll fun as the disapproving older brother, and Jackson is at his best.

This little family flick’s message about never giving up on your dreams is basic — but it may come up fast on young audiences. “Turbo” addresses it nicely and never feels sluggish.

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